Tonya Knight (born March 24, 1966) is an American professional

female bodybuilder Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.

Early life

Tonya Knight was born in 1966 in

Peculiar, Missouri Peculiar is a city in Cass County, Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the United States. The population was 4,608 at the 2010 census. The town motto is "Where the 'odds' are with you." History Early settlers of the ...

Bodybuilding career

Professional

After IFBB officials presented strong evidence against Tonya that she got someone other than herself to supply test-passing urine, she admitted that she sent a surrogate to take a mandatory drug test administered before the 1988

Ms. Olympia The IFBB Ms. Olympia is both the highest ranking professional female bodybuilding competition and the title of the winner of the competition. It was first organized in 1980, and was held as part of the Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance ...

, where she finished fourth. In a ruling handed down in November 1989, she was suspended, stripped of her 1989 Ms. International title (which went to runner-up

Jackie Paisley Jackie Paisley was a professional female bodybuilder from the Scottsdale, Arizona in the United States. Legacy As a college student who attended both Carnegie Mellon University and Arizona State University on a music scholarship, Paisley was dra ...

) and asked to return her 1989 Ms. International and 1988 Ms. Olympia prize money, totaling $12,000. After the scandal, she returned to the stage in triumph in 1991, winning the Ms. International title, this time without incident. She went on to compete in only two more pro contests, the last in 1993.15 biggest controversies and shocking moments in bodybuilding history.(FEATURE)
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Legacy

Tonya remains the only Ms. International winner to lose one of her Ms. International titles. She was inducted into the 2011 IFBB Hall of Fame.

Contest history

*1984 NPC USA Championship - 11th (LHW) *1985 NPC USA Championship - 6th (HW) *1986 NPC USA Championship - 4th (HW) *1988 Pro World Championship - 5th *1988 IFBB

- 4th (later disqualified) *1989

Ms. International The Ms. International female bodybuilding contest was considered to be the second-most prestigious competition for female bodybuilders (second only to the Ms. Olympia competition), from its inception in 1986 through 2013. It was first held in 1 ...

- 1st (later disqualified) *1991 IFBB Grand Prix Italy - 1st *1991

- 1st *1992

- 6th *1993 Jan Tana Classic - 3rdTonya Knight
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Personal life

Tonya currently lives in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As o ...

. She was married to the late bodybuilder John Poteat, but they divorced. She has 3 brothers named Timothy, Todd and Travis and a few other step and in-law siblings, and a son named Malachi.

Television appearance

Tonya was a regular on American Gladiators, as the character ''Gold'', from 1989 to 1992, until she left due to an injury to her left knee.2011 Joe Weider Hall of Fame Inductees
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References

, colspan = 3 align = center ,

, - , width = 30% align = center , Preceded by:

Laura Creavalle Laura Cordelia Creavalle is a Guyanese-born Canadian/American professional female bodybuilder. Early life and education Laura Creavalle was born in 1959 in British Guiana. She migrated to Canada at the age of 13. She attended both Industrial Hig ...

, width = 40% align = center , First (1991) , width = 30% align = center , Succeeded by:

Anja Schreiner Anja Schreiner is a professional female bodybuilder from Germany. Bodybuilding career Amateur She began lifting weights to combat scoliosis in her adolescence. Professional Anja won a narrow victory at the 1991 Ms. International, when she topped ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Tonya 1966 births Living people People from Peculiar, Missouri Actresses from Kansas Actresses from Missouri Actresses from Oregon American female bodybuilders People from Jackson County, Oregon Sportspeople from Overland Park, Kansas Professional bodybuilders Sportspeople from Ashland, Oregon Sportspeople from Missouri 21st-century American women